Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for appearing before the committee and it is good to see this issue being discussed here. Many questions have been asked already, but one aspect I wish to ask about is the monetary sanctions involved for individuals. Head 5 of this proposed legislation deals with monetary sanctions. It states they shall be “effective, proportionate and dissuasive", while also taking into account "The financial position of the individual concerned”. I ask the witnesses to outline, by way of example, the range of monetary sanctions which will be possible for breaches of the conduct standards. My colleague, Deputy Doherty, for instance, mentioned the tracker mortgage scandal. I would also like the witnesses to confirm that under head 5 it would not be possible for the employer or service provider to pay or contribute towards a monetary sanction imposed on an individual.